Impacting Policy Series: Developing and Maintaining Your Policy Long Game
Patricia Barahona started their work at Youth Leadership Institute in 2011 as a Program Coordinator in Marin County working on projects related to school health, safety, and equity for LGBTQ youth and exploring the intersections of interfaith understanding, sexuality, and youth development. In this position, they worked in collaboration with the Spectrum LGBT Center of the North Bay. In July 2013, Patricia assumed a leadership role as the Senior Director of San Francisco Community Based Programs, visioning and directing programs and initiatives in San Francisco. They moved into the Chief People Officer role in July 2016, a newly formed position at YLI to directly oversee the Bay Area and Central Valley programmatic vision, delivery, implementation, and evaluation of programs. As CPO, Patty works towards programmatic success and also develops and maintains systems and policies to ensure a constantly improving workforce, evolving workplace, and sustainable organizational leadership. Their work demonstrates a commitment to social justice and the empowerment of youth and adults.
Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPHS is a leading scientist who has produced seminal research on how harmful chemicals and pollutants impact health, pregnancy, and child development, including the first international study to document the effects of air pollution and preterm birth and the first to document toxic chemicals in pregnant women and newborns. A national expert in chemical and regulatory policy, she was a senior scientist and policy advisor for the U.S. EPA’s Office of Policy prior to joining UCSF.
Anthony Wright has served as Executive Director for Health Access, California’s health care consumer advocacy coalition, since 2002, leading campaigns to win key patient protections, coverage expansions, health reforms, and public health investments. He also worked for NJ Citizen Action, Center for Media Education, The Nation, and VP Gore's office in the White House. Bred in the Bronx, Wright lives in Davis, and graduated from Amherst magna cum laude